Pedro Castillo did not oppose a third parliamentary impeachment trial and after barely 17 months handed power to his Vice-President Dina Boluarte, who was installed on Wednesday at the helm of Peru, a country repeatedly experiencing political crises.
“I assume (power) in accordance with the Peruvian constitution from this moment” and until “July 2026” when Castillo’s mandate would end, said Dina Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, during a ceremony in front of parliament. Elected in July 2021 alongside the now former left-wing president and from the same Marxist-inspired party (Free Peru) as him, she is the first woman to lead Peru.
Castillo “under arrest”
Pedro Castillo, 53, has been “placed under arrest,” prosecutor Marita Barreto told the press after the judiciary released pictures showing the former head of state seated in a chair and surrounded by prosecutors and police officers.
A judicial source told AFP that Castillo was under investigation for “rebellion” following his attempt to dissolve parliament. There are six other investigations against him for corruption or influence trading, which also include members of his family and his political environment.
“Rebellion”
His live televised dismissal for “moral incompetence” was approved by 101 of the 130 MPs, including 80 in the opposition. In a last-minute bid to save himself from impeachment, the former president had announced the dissolution of parliament just hours before it was due to meet to debate his fate.
He had also announced the establishment of an “extraordinary emergency government” aimed at “restoring the rule of law and democracy” and ensuring that he “will convene a new Congress, vested with constitutional powers to pass within a year, as soon as possible.” to draw up a new constitution for a period not exceeding nine months”.
“The judiciary, the judiciary, the public prosecutor’s office, the state judiciary council, the constitutional court will be declared in a new order,” he had further specified. A maneuver that was quickly labeled a “coup d’état” by both his Vice President Dina Boluarte and Constitutional Court President Francisco Morales, who believed that “no one owes obedience to a usurping government”.
“Constitutional Order”
Hundreds of demonstrators quickly gathered in front of Parliament. “We are fed up with this corrupt government, this government that has stolen from us since day one,” Johana Salazar, a 51-year-old worker, told AFP.
Others defended him, demanding “respect for the referendum,” such as Sissy, a 50-year-old municipal worker, who said “since the president arrived, they’ve humiliated him, they haven’t accepted a president from the provinces.” in relation to the former teacher in rural areas for 24 years, a novice in politics.
International reactions came in, particularly from Latin American countries. American diplomacy immediately let it be known that it no longer considered Pedro Castillo as the current President of the country and welcomed the role played by parliamentarians. “We will categorically oppose any act that violates (…) any constitution, any act that undermines democracy,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he “always regrets that a democratically elected president has to suffer such a fate” but is pleased that “everything has been done within the framework of the constitution”. The Mexican government has called for “respect for democracy and human rights”. The Spanish government “strongly condemned the collapse of the constitutional order in Peru and welcomed the restoration of democratic normality”.
When he took office in July 2021, Castillo had already avoided two impeachment motions for “moral incompetence” – which had already ousted two incumbent presidents, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (right) in 2018 and Martin Vizcarra (center) in 2020 – the last of them in March 2022. He was specifically accused of repeated ministerial crises and the formation of four governments in eight months, an unprecedented event in Peru.